Katherine Perkins

News/Talk Programming Director

Katherine Perkins has done various jobs at IPR member stations since 1999. She is now Program Director for News/Talk and Executive Producer for Talk Shows. As part of her job she is responsible for managing the sound of the news and information stream on IPR and long-term planning and oversight for Talk of Iowa and River to River. She oversees the broadcast schedule for the news and information stations that are part of IPR. She also continues to produce talk shows, but mostly tries to stay out of the way of the hosts and producers, so they can continue to produce great programs. Before she assumed Executive Producer duties, Katherine was a talk show producer, researching topics, developing content and booking guests for Talk of Iowa and River to River, a role she has performed since 2007. Katherine’s reporting and producing have won statewide and national recognition. She’s spent her entire career (more than 20 years) in public media, starting as a student reporter and weekend anchor for WSIU in Carbondale, IL

Katherine has a master’s degree in public affairs reporting from University of Illinois – Springfield, formerly Sangamon State University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in radio-television from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale.

Ways to Connect

These are remarks, as delivered, by U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, at an Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition event April 25, 2015 in Waukee, Iowa.

Thank you. You know after a long day I usually write some notes down, so I can be clearer on my speeches. So, the good news is that I found my notes in my jacket. The bad news is that you’re not the National Trucking Association. So, I’ll do the best I can. I appreciate you having me.

Republican presidential candidate, Carly Fiorina, spent an hour-and-a-half speaking to about 75 people in a downtown Cedar Rapids coffee house Thursday morning. She promises to restore what she calls "possibilities," in Americans' lives.

“And we knew, we knew that our lives were defined by possibilities, and our children and our grandchildren’s lives would be filled with even greater possibilities. And yet, people don’t know that anymore. And when we lose the sense of limitless possibilities that has always defined this nation, we are losing the core of who we are.”

What was it like to saw off dozens of legs a day during the Civil War?

In the novelMy Name is Mary Sutter, author Robin Oliveira explores an entirely new kind of medicine that emerged during the Civil War. She says the idea for the book originally came to her when she was cleaning her house.

“We need to build the economy of tomorrow, not yesterday, she told a group of students and school administrators. “We need to strengthen families and communities, because that’s where it starts,” she added.

Iowa lawmakers are facing another funnel deadline this week at the statehouse. Bills must have cleared one chamber and a committee in the other chamber in order to continue to be eligible for consideration. IPR's Julie Englander spoke with Statehouse Correspondent Joyce Russell about some of the bills facing this deadline. One would make it a primary offense to use your cell phone while driving. Another would make speeding tickets issued by traffic cameras more detailed.

Across the corn belt, Iowa State University Extension Entomologist Donald Lewis says that there have been 125 million acres of milkweed habitat lost in the last few decades. He says individuals planting milkweed won't make up for the lost of all those acres, but it's a start.

The new emphasis on funding Iowa’s three state universities according to the number of students who are state residents is dramatically increasing competition. The 26 private and 15 community colleges in the state are preparing.

Governor Terry Branstad has been taken to a Des Moines hospital by ambulance. Branstad's spokesman says he "fell ill" at an event this morning due to a "seasonal illness." The Governor was speaking at Du Pont Pioneer in Johnston at the time. Branstad, who is 68 years old, held his weekly news conference this morning at the statehouse. He was coughing and was quizzed by a reporter about his health.

"I've got a bad cold, and so does the Lieutenant Governor. We've had it off and on for some time... couple weeks or more."

Did you know that every public radio program has a clock? You may think of it as one of the ways you time your day – maybe you know that you have to be in the shower by the time the NPR newscast starts, or that you should be on your way to work before you hear Frank DeFord, or that you usually are turning into the drive as Marketplace begins each evening. Broadcast clocks are set templates that stations use to track the timing of a show's stories and interviews, newscasts, and funding credits each day.

Debating last night in Cedar Rapids, the Democratic and Republican candidates to replace incumbent Bruce Braley in Congress sparred over issues ranging from immigration and Middle East foreign policy to the nation’s minimum wage.